Some of us like scream-singing carols. And nothing warms up the throat for a few fa-la-las! better than Yuletide cocktails. Luckily this town has many seasonal drinks to choose from: Some are wintry. Some are kitschy. All are examples of how distilled spirits can lift holiday spirits.

The Carmel Apple-tini at Bice Restorante in the Gaslamp.— John R. McCutchen

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The Carmel Apple-tini at Bice Restorante in the Gaslamp.
— John R. McCutchen

If the world ran out of sugar, candy-makers would disappear. Then the mixologists at Bice couldn’t daintily garnish the rim of their Caramel Apple-tini with mini caramels. Thankfully, the restaurant bar has stockpiled enough chewy confections to keep this holiday martini on the menu through December. $5 during happy hour. Verdict: It’s a candy apple speared with a cinnamon stick, instead of a standard wooden craft stick.

It’s silky-frothy (that’s the Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, Kahlua coffee liqueur and Baileys Irish Cream working) with an icy cool breath of peppermint liqueur. Served in a martini glass dusted with vanilla-bean-infused sugar on the rim. Verdict: Not your grandma’s Christmas cookie party, but you’d probably visit her a lot more if she made sweet cocktails.

Celebrated mixologist Jeff Josenhans uses real Douglas firs from the San Bernardino Mountains for this cocktail (the Death’s Door Wheat Gin is infused with them). To smooth out the metaphorical splinters, he adds fresh Meyer lemon, simple syrup and seltzer soda. Verdict: Donate your Christmas tree to Josenhans so he can make more.

The Snake Oil Cocktail Co. boys (cocktail menu-makers Lucien Conner and Ian Ward) take us on a fizzy trip to old London by mixing Hayman’s Old Tom Gin with 100 percent unsweetened cranberry, Fox Barrel Pear Cider and cinnamon sprinkled over ice. Verdict: Finally, friends and family we won’t neglect.

Here’s a comfort drink with rosemary-infused gin, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice and pasteurized egg whites shaken into a bubbly foam and poured over ice. Then the bartender grates fresh nutmeg on top, adds a rosemary sprig and tucks a tartan blanket over your lap. Verdict: Like warming by the fireplace.

Unlike your Christmas decorations, the $15 holiday cocktails at this resort’s Lobby Lounge change every season. This year there’s this martini-style cider made with Julian’s unfiltered apple juice. It’s stiffened with Jack Daniels and a ginger liqueur, softened with ginger ale and fresh squeezed lemon, and dolled up with a cinnamon stick. Verdict: A chilled spiced apple cider fit for Colonial-era boozing.